Prep Sports: Stockton football players make quick transition to hoops

STOCKTON — Stockton played its final football game of the season last Saturday.

Four days later, the Blackhawks basketball players returned to the floor for their first day of practice.

There’s little time to rest for most multiple-sport athletes who experience deep postseason runs in one sport, then transition to the next.

“I usually like to let them rest a week before getting them started,” Stockton boys basketball coach Gary Timpe said. “But with Thanksgiving coming up, I just can’t do that.”

Their first game is Dec. 6. Had the football team advanced to the state semifinals or finals, the team would have had even less time to prepare.

Last year’s state qualifier featured nearly all of the basketball team, along with the wrestling team that co-ops with Lena-Winslow. This year isn’t much different.

“We only have three kids that didn’t play football that will be playing basketball this year,” Timpe said. “It’s actually better because last year, we only had one kid that didn’t play football.

“About 12-13 kids played football that will be playing basketball for me.”

Le-Win found itself in a similar situation in 2010. The players had to play themselves into basketball shape, which took time.

“We had the option to take two days off, but I think all of us just started practice on Monday,” Lena-Winslow alum Adam Werhane said via Twitter. “During practice we had to get offensive and defensive plays in, not much time to condition.

“I don’t think I really got into good basketball shape until after Christmas.”

“You wind up playing yourself into shape,” Timpe said, “because you can’t spend a lot of time conditioning.

“You sub a lot more to start the season.”

Football players are generally in top condition in their sport by the postseason. But football-playing shape and being in shape for basketball are different.

“It’s hard to get into basketball mode and basketball shape right after football,” Stockton junior Cameron Upmann said. “It’s a different type of conditioning for both sports.

“It’s still kind of weird just to think about getting on the court right after school.”

Then there’s injuries. Players may grind it out in football to get past a nagging injury to suit up on the field, especially during the postseason. As a result, some players are coming into the season already hurt.

“Some players end up sitting out a week or more to heal from injuries during football,” Timpe said. “Sometimes they don’t tell you if they’re hurt right away, so you have to keep an eye out to make sure they’re healthy.”

Despite some of the potential setbacks to starting the basketball season late, most don’t complain.

“It’s better than the alternative,” Werhane said. “A late start means you’re still winning. So being out of (basketball) shape to start was a good problem to have.”